Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about PhonoLogic

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Getting Started

What is a Reading Level?

PhonoLogic uses Reading Levels (L1–L6) based on phonics skill progression, not age or school grade. They reflect which patterns a learner has actually mastered.

Here's what each level covers:

  • L1 — CVC words, blends, digraphs
  • L2 — Inflections (-s/-ed/-ing), Silent E (VCe)
  • L3 — R-controlled vowels, vowel teams
  • L4 — Complex vowels, compound words
  • L5 — Final stable syllables, silent letters
  • L6 — Soft C/G, common suffixes

A learner's level is set by our assessment. A 3rd grader might be at L2, while a strong 1st grader could be at L3. It just depends on where they are with phonics.

How do I choose the right level for my learner?

The quickest way is to take the assessment. It only takes about 5 minutes and sets everything up automatically. But if you'd rather get a rough idea first, ask your learner to read these words:

Level Example Words What It Tests
1 cat, stop, clap, chip, bring CVC words, blends, digraphs
2 jumping, played, cake, home, bike Inflections, Silent E
3 start, bird, rain, boat, green R-controlled vowels, vowel teams
4 coin, cloud, cupcake, sometimes Complex vowels, compound words
5 knight, wrinkle, comb, table, gentle Final stable syllables, silent letters
6 city, giant, helpful, kindness Soft C/G, common suffixes

Start at the level where they begin to struggle. When in doubt, go one level lower. It's better to build confidence than frustration.

What's the difference between Phonics Focus and Fluency Review?

Phonics Focus creates stories that emphasize specific patterns you're working on. Words with your "Focus" patterns show up frequently so your learner gets lots of practice with them.

Fluency Review creates stories using only patterns the learner already knows. It's great for building reading speed and confidence without throwing in anything new.

Understanding the Tool

What do "Focus", "Known", and "Unknown" mean?

Each phonics pattern has three states you can set:

🎯
Focus What you're currently teaching, so these words show up often in the story
Known Already learned. These words can appear naturally.
Unknown Not yet learned. These words won't appear in the story.
Why do some words get highlighted in the story?

Those are your focus words. They contain the phonics patterns you marked as "Focus". They're the words your learner should practice sounding out.

The cat ran to the boat and saw a goat sitting in the rain.

Example: "oa" vowel team marked as Focus

We aim for about 10-15% of the story to be focus words. That's enough practice to be useful without overwhelming the reader.

What does "decodable" mean?

A decodable story only uses words a learner can sound out based on patterns they've already learned. Regular books use whatever words they want, but decodable stories are carefully matched to what the reader actually knows.

PhonoLogic checks every single word against your learner's known and focus patterns before including it in a story.

What are Strong Words and Trouble Words?

While your learner reads a story, you can tap on individual words to mark how they did:

Strong

Read it confidently

Example: "jumped", "green"

Trouble

Needed help sounding it out

Example: "thought", "special"

Trouble words show up on the Progress page so you can see exactly which words need more practice.

What are Worlds?

Worlds let you build a story universe your learner can return to again and again. When a World is active:

  • Characters, settings, and plot details carry over between stories
  • New stories continue adventures with familiar faces and places
  • Your learner gets invested in characters they already know

You can create multiple Worlds per profile, like one for fantasy quests and another for everyday adventures. Manage them from the Worlds page.

What are Flashcards?

Flashcards give your learner quick, targeted practice with individual words outside of stories. You can:

  • Practice words from specific phonics patterns you're teaching
  • Review trouble words your learner has struggled with
  • Build custom decks focused on whatever your learner needs

Each flashcard shows the word along with phonetic pronunciation to help with decoding. Find them under Flashcards in the navigation.

Assessments

How does the reading assessment work?

The assessment takes about 5 minutes. Your learner sees flashcards with individual words, and you mark whether they read each one correctly or not. The words are pulled from our phonics wordbank and cover the patterns for the selected level.

Based on the results, PhonoLogic figures out which patterns your learner has down and which ones still need work, then automatically sets up their profile so stories match their abilities.

What do the assessment results mean?

After the assessment, PhonoLogic identifies which phonics patterns your learner has mastered and which ones still need practice. Their profile is automatically updated so stories and flashcards match their current abilities.

How often should I reassess?

There's no strict schedule, but here's a good rule of thumb:

  • Every 4–6 weeks if you're doing regular phonics instruction
  • After finishing a major phonics unit
  • Whenever you notice a big change in reading performance

When you reassess, your learner's profile updates automatically, and their stories and flashcards will adjust to match.

Profiles & Accounts

What's the difference between Quick Generate and using a Profile?

Quick Generate lets you make a story without signing into a profile. It's handy for trying things out or making a quick one-off story. Nothing gets saved.

Profiles are where the real value is. They remember assessment results, track progress, save stories to a library, and keep your learner's phonics settings between sessions.

Can I have multiple learners on one account?

Yes! Each account supports up to 4 learner profiles. Each one tracks its own:

  • Assessment results and reading level
  • Phonics pattern settings (focus, known, unknown)
  • Saved story library
  • Strong and trouble words

You can switch between profiles using the dropdown in the header.

Where are my saved stories?

Stories are automatically saved to whichever profile is active when you generate them. To find them:

  • Make sure you have the right profile selected in the header
  • Click Story Library in the navigation
  • Browse or search your saved stories

Stories made with Quick Generate (no profile) aren't saved anywhere.

Limits & Storage

How many stories can I save?

Each profile can save up to 100 stories. When you hit the limit, the oldest non-favorited stories are automatically removed to make room for new ones.

You can favorite up to 25 stories per profile to protect them from ever being replaced.

Are there limits on other features?

Here are the current limits per account:

  • 4 learner profiles per account
  • 100 saved stories per profile (25 can be favorited)
  • 1,000 strong words and 1,000 trouble words tracked per profile
  • 10 story worlds per profile, each with up to 240 memories

These limits are generous for typical use. If you're running into them, let us know.

Can I download my data?

Yes. Go to Settings → Request Data Export and we'll email you a JSON file with all your account data — profiles, stories, assessments, word ratings, and worlds. You can request one export per hour.

Story Generation

How long does story generation take?

Usually 1–3 minutes, though longer or more complex stories can take up to 5 minutes.

Behind the scenes, the AI writes multiple versions of the story and checks each one against your phonics settings. It picks the best one that actually meets your requirements, which is what takes the extra time.

Why did my story get a warning?

Every story is checked against your phonics settings. Sometimes the AI can't perfectly hit every target. Here's what the common warnings mean:

  • Low focus word %: Not enough of your focus patterns ended up in the story. Try selecting fewer focus areas next time.
  • Disallowed words: A few words slipped in that use patterns marked "Unknown". We still show the best attempt.
  • Word count: The story came out too short or too long for the selected length.

You'll always see the best version the AI came up with, so you can use it as-is, edit it, or regenerate.

Can I edit the generated story?

Absolutely. A few options:

  • Edit directly: Click "Edit Story" to change wording, fix anything, or add your own touch
  • Regenerate: Hit "Edit & Retry" to get a fresh version with the same settings
  • Export as PDF: Download for printing or sharing
  • Copy text: Paste it into Google Docs, Word, or wherever you need it

Troubleshooting

The page is stuck on "Creating your story"

Story generation can take up to 5 minutes, and that's normal. If it seems stuck:

  • Stay on the tab because switching tabs on mobile can pause the request
  • Check your connection since a dropped connection will cause it to hang
  • Give it a minute and after about 6 minutes, you'll see either the result or an error
  • Try again with a shorter story or fewer focus areas if it keeps timing out
My session expired

Sessions expire after a period of inactivity for security. Just log in again. All your profiles, stories, and assessment data are safely stored and will be right where you left them.

My learner's progress isn't showing

A few things to check:

  • Make sure the right profile is selected in the header dropdown
  • The profile needs at least one completed assessment to show progress
  • Quick Generate mode doesn't track progress, so you need an active profile

Still have a question?

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